ComBank declared ‘Strongest Bank Brand’ in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance

• Retains status as country’s most valuable private bank brand; records highest brand value growth among Top Brands in 2020

Brand Finance has declared Commercial Bank of Ceylon the ‘strongest banking brand’ in Sri Lanka in 2020, unequivocally reaffirming the strength the brand and ranking the bank fourth among all brands in in the country as well as assigning the bank the highest brand value growth among the top 10 corporates in the list.

The bank retains its position at No. 4 in the 2020 Brand Finance ranking of the 100 Most Valuable Brands, and enjoys the distinction of having being in the top 10 of this prestigious ranking since its inception. Brand Finance assigned Commercial Bank a brand value of Rs. 44 billion for 2020, up 18% from last year, emphasising the bank’s continuing success in building its brand.

The ranking also recognises Commercial Bank as the most valuable brand among the private sector banks in Sri Lanka.

Elaborating on Commercial Bank’s ranking, Brand Finance said the bank’s brand strength score corresponds to a AAA (Triple A) brand rating, and that the ratings also confirmed that the Bank’s focus on customer service and ease of doing business seem to be key strengths that have propelled its growth. The AAA rating assigned to the bank reflects an upward movement of three places from 2019.

The 18% growth in brand value achieved by Commercial Bank is all the more noteworthy considering that overall, the total value of Sri Lanka’s most valuable brands has fallen by 4% this year, while total brand value in the banking sector declined by 3.3%.

Notably, the Brand Finance Sri Lanka 100 brand analysis was completed pre-COVID-19 and did not include the impact of the pandemic on brand performance. However, Brand Finance estimated that the current combined brand value of Rs. 603 billion of the top 100 Sri Lankan brands could drop 9.5% in value following the impact of COVID-19, equating to a total loss of Rs. 57.4 billion.

Brand Finance computes the value of brands listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange using a method based on the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method used by the company globally. Every year it puts 5,000 of the world’s biggest brands to the test and ranks brands across all sectors and countries and publishes nearly 100 reports. 

The seven-step process of arriving at a brand value encompasses calculating brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics; assessing stakeholder equity and business performance; determining a royalty range for each industry reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions; calculating the royalty rate; determining brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand; determining forecast revenues; application of the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues; and discounting brand revenues post-tax to a net present value which equals the brand value.

Considered one of the world’s leading independent brand evaluation and ratings firms, Brand Finance PLC is headquartered in London and has a network of offices around the world. The Brand Finance rankings for Sri Lanka are published annually by LMD.

One of the most active and vibrant brands in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank’s brand building efforts maintain a healthy balance between corporate and product communications and ground level customer engagement events. In addition to traditional media, the Bank is very active in social and digital media and customer engagement events, at national and regional level. 

The bank stated that it places heavy emphasis on strategy when formulating marketing plans and brand building activities. Commercial Bank maintains a constant watch over its brand performance and measures it both qualitatively and quantitatively. Parameters such as brand equity and top of mind recall are periodically monitored through research and the key takeouts are taken into account when marketing campaigns are planned.  

This strategic approach has helped the brand to evolve through the years and become one of the strongest brands in the country.   

The first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for nine years consecutively, Commercial Bank is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The bank, which won more than 50 international and local awards in 2019, operates a network of 268 branches and 865 ATMs in Sri Lanka.

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.